4-H members receive top honors

BY RYAN JONESThe Dispatch

Monday

Aug 3, 2009 at 12:01 AM

With 18 years of commitment to the Davidson County Helping Hands 4-H Club between the two of them, Michael Drake and Kayla Jarrett have each received top state-level honors through the organization they say has affected them in countless positive ways.Drake, a rising home-schooled senior, recently was voted state vice president of 4-H, a position that will require him to work with the three other elected state officials to provide leadership for more than 10,000 4-H programs established across North Carolina. “It hasn’t fully sunk in yet,” he said of the experience of executing a successful campaign.At first, he wasn’t even sure he wanted to shoulder the responsibility of the position. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to (run). People said I should, but I wasn’t sure because of the responsibility,” he said, explaining that 2009 is an important year for the N.C. 4-H. This year marks the centennial year for the organization, which has been providing educational outreach programs for youths in the state since 1909.Drake said he had considered running for state office last year but decided instead to support friends who had chosen to run.“This year I finally decided, ‘I don’t care, I’m going to run,’” he said. “If I don’t win, I don’t care. I’ll just get my name out there.”Drake, 18, started in May preparing to run for the position of vice president at the N.C. State 4-H Congress, held every year from July 20-24 on the campus of N.C. State University. He designed all his campaign materials, including posters, brochures and a banner. He even helped design T-shirts to distribute to friends who helped organize his efforts. But the real preparation for his campaign started six years ago when Drake joined his district 4-H club, which focuses on community service. Since then, he has attended numerous local and statewide events and has served as both the club’s president and as the northwest district reporter. He also earned a spot on a trip to the National 4-H Congress held last November in Atlanta, Ga., where he attended workshops and completed community service projects with young people from all over the United States.Drake said all of his 4-H experiences have made him a better person.“I think the 4-H opportunities that have presented themselves have helped me decide what I’m interested in,” he said. “And it’s helped me get my name out there.”Watching along with all the state congress attendees as the election votes were counted on a big screen in the conference room, Drake said it was stressful and fun at the same time. “You could hear cheers when something changed,” he said.He was nervous, but not so much for himself as for his friends, many of whom were running against one another for the same positions.“I was nervous to a degree,” he said. “But I wasn’t really as nervous for me as for my friends. I didn’t want to see them hurt.” On Tuesday, Drake will leave for a three-day retreat where he will participate in team-building exercises with the other N.C. state officers at the Sertoma 4-H Educational Center in Westfield. He will also spend time in Raleigh training the new 4-H district officers. Jarrett, who graduated from her home-schooled curriculum in May, has been a part of N.C. 4-H since she was 5 years old. She found out at the N.C. 4-H Electric Congress in July that she was named state senior division winner for a cumulative project book she submitted earlier this year. She also applied for and won a highly sought-after $1,000 4-H scholarship. “I was excited,” she said. “I was shocked and excited all at the same time, just knowing that all the hard work that I put into my book paid off.” Jarrett, 17, said to complete a cumulative record project book like hers, a 4-H member must be committed to a project in a specific area of study for at least three years. She chose electricity because she was fascinated by how electric currents work. Every project or community service a member has ever performed for the 4-H organization becomes a part of the carefully organized book. Jarrett’s is filled with examples of classes she’s taught, workshops she has conducted and attended and community service and leadership projects she has completed. “Teaching classes was the most fun for me because I got to share my knowledge of electricity with others,” she said, noting one project in particular where she taught elementary school students how to build a lamp using energy-saving bulbs out of glass Coke bottles.“4-H has really taught me to open up, through the presentations and just everything,” she said. “They call me a social butterfly now. It’s definitely given me confidence. It’s taught me to be a more well-rounded person.” As an Emerald Ambassador, Jarrett is at one of the highest levels of leadership in the 4-H organization. “We’re the ones that set the example,” she explained. “We represent the county.” She is also a member of the 4-H Honor Club, which is the highest honor a 4-H member can receive. Just attending the 4-H Electric Congress where she submitted her cumulative record project is also considered an honor. Only county delegates, 4-H recruiters and people with enough dedication to a single subject to submit a cumulative record project are invited. “It’s a chance to meet new people and talk to others who are interested in electricity, just like you,” she said of the Electric Congress, held this year on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Jarrett is planning to attend Catawba College in the fall to major in biology. She said she aspires to work either as a physical therapist or with a power company. “Science and literature are my two favorite subjects,” she said. “I think the electricity project definitely influenced my interest in science. 4-H has just opened up a lot of doors for me. If I hadn’t been a part of 4-H I wouldn’t be the person I am today.” Julie Jones, who works at the Davidson County 4-H Center on East Center Street, said Drake and Jarrett represent a very special aspect of her job coordinating club leaders and organizing 4-H events. “I’m very proud of them,” Jones said. “The hard work they’ve done and the accomplishments they’ve made — it’s one of the best parts of my job to see that.”

Ryan Jones can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or ryan.jones@the-dispatch.com.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.